Kara Goucher, the former University of Colorado distance star who left the Nike Oregon Project in 2011 after seven years, said for the first time in explosive reports published Wednesday that she stepped away from the high-profile distance group because of coach Alberto Salazar’s win-at-all-costs persona, his flippant attitude toward therapeutic use exemptions, his willingness to ignore anti-doping rules, and other actions of his that put her health at risk.

“Absolutely, Cowboy is definitely the contender,” White said in a video interview released by UFC. “He’ll fight anybody, anywhere, any time. … He always keeps his composure, he picks his shot, he takes his time. He looked great again tonight, Cowboy’s next in line.”

Cerrone (28-6), 32, earned the title shot after beating John Makdessi (13-4) via TKO at UFC 187 on Saturday. He has been incredibly active in the ring, already having three fights under his belt in 2015.

The fight will be a rematch between the two fighters. Cerrone has been on an eight-match winning streak since losing to Dos Anjos via unanimous decision on Aug. 28, 2013.

When the fight will happen is another question. Dos Anjos is recovering from a partially torn MCL from his title defense against Anthony Pettis in March, and isn’t expected back until later this year.

Christy Mahon climbs the 13,950-foot Pacific Peak in April 2013, with Atlantic Peak and Quandary Peak in the background. The Aspen ski mountaineer joins her huband Ted and professional skier Chris Davenport in a mission to ski the state’s 100 highest peaks. (Courtesy of Ted Mahon)

Aspen ski mountaineers Chris Davenport, Ted Mahon and Christy Mahon on Wednesday are planning to climb and ski the remote Jagged Peak in southwestern Colorado, a feat that will carve their names into the most hallowed halls of U.S. ski mountaineering.

Bas Rutten walks the red carpet during the premiere of “Here Comes the Boom” at the United Artists Colorado Center 9 on Oct. 4, 2012. (Denver Post file)

Former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July, the company announced Friday.

Rutten will be inducted into the hall’s Pioneer Era category, which honors fighters who turned pro before the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were adopted on Nov. 17, 2000. He will join Royce Gracie, Dan Severn and Chuck Liddell in the wing.

UFC president Dana White broke the news during an interview on Rutten’s “Inside MMA Show.” Watch the video:

Rutten spent most of his MMA career in Japan before signing with UFC in 1998. On May 7, 1999, he defeated Kevin Randleman to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. He finished his career with a 22-match undefeated streak and a record of 28-4-1.

My story on Arapahoe Park preparing to plow on with its 2015 horse racing meeting in the wake of Amendment 68’s decisive defeat at the polls last November is here.

I also spoke with Arapahoe Park announcer Jonathan Horowitz, who also is involved in promotion and publicity work at the track. Horowitz, who had just finished an announcing stint at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, spoke about the same “racing-goes on” attitude others discussed in the story and also mentioned a “Where Horses Come First” mantra for the upcoming meeting.

According to the deal, fighters in their first five UFC fights will make $2,500, while those with 21 or more bouts will make $20,000 per fight. UFC champions will receive $40,000 per match, and their challengers will get $30,000.

The UFC is planning on expanding its hall of fame and creating a physical site to honor those enshrined.

The 2015 class will be the first to induct a new member in the four different categories the UFC has established. The wings include modern era, fighters who made their professional mixed martial arts debut on or after Nov. 17, 2000; pioneer era, fighter who started before Nov. 17, 2000; contributors for those who are non-participants; and one for significant fights in UFC history.

“The UFC Hall of Fame has an important job — it not only celebrates greatness but it helps pass stories of the greatest athletes and fights in UFC history on to the next generation of fight fans,” UFC president Dana White said in a release from the company.

White also said there are plans for a physical UFC Hall of Fame to reside in Las Vegas.

Showtime and HBO announced Monday they have partnered with NASA to show the boxing match to the U.S. astronaut crew on the International Space Station. The bout was packaged and delivered for the crew to watch at their convenience.

LAS VEGAS — Boxing, generally, is a bizarre spectacle. And when the stakes get raised, so does the mess. There was more than enough of the circus to chew on this week before Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally fight Saturday night to unify the welterweight titles in the richest bout in boxing history.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, lands a left on Oscar De La Hoya during the twelfth round of their WBC super welterweight world championship boxing match on Saturday, May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (Kevork Djansezian, The Associated Press)

It’s been nearly 19 years since Floyd Mayweather Jr. lost in the ring — a highly controversial loss to Bulgaria’s Serafim Todorov at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Since turning pro, he’s been a flawless 47-0.

Mayweather lacked no confidence in his first title fight. Entering the ring, he had a WBC patch on his trunks. Against an undefeated Hernandez, the 21-year-old Mayweather’s speed and skills proved to be too much for the super featherweight champion, whose only loss to that point was to an up-and-coming Oscar De La Hoya three years prior.

It didn’t take long for UFC to give Michelle Waterson her first fight.

The Colorado native will make her debut with the company against Angela Magana in a strawweight bout on July 12 on the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter 21.” The match will take place at a site to be determined in Florida.

UFC announced its signing of Waterson on Tuesday. Born in Colorado Springs and raised in Aurora, the 29 year old has a 12-4 record in MMA and was the former Invicta FC atomweight champion.

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines stands over Ricky Hatton of England after Pacquiao knocked him out in the second round during their junior welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nev. (Al Bello, Getty Images)

Manny Pacquiao traveled a long, winding road to get to where he is today, from a young impoverished fighter in the Philippines to now on the cusp of the most lucrative fight in boxing history against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

I compiled my list of Pacquiao’s career-defining moments. It was difficult to limit it to just five. His battles against Juan Manuel Marquez, his first world title victory, taking apart Miguel Cotto — all amazing moments, but all just missed the list. (Here are Mayweather’s top-five fights).

Here are my top five defining moments in Pacquiao’s career. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments:

This was the fight that put Pacquiao on the map. A world champion at the lower weight classes, taking down Barrera was huge. Barrera was in the middle of his storied trilogy against Erik Morales, and had taken down former world champions Kevin Kelley and Naseem Hamed. A hard-nosed, tough fighter, he met someone even better in Pacquiao.

It’s difficult to pinpoint just one moment from the Paquiao-Morales trilogy that launched Pacquiao into superstardom. Morales, coming off one of his own most-entertaining boxing trilogies in the past 20 years when he fought Barrera, gave fight fans another war to remember. Morales scored a unanimous decision against Pacquiao in the their first bout, outclassing the then 26-year-old Filipino fighter.

But in the rematch, Pacquiao returned with a new array of fancy footwork, attacking Morales at varied angles and scored a TKO in the 10th round. Twenty rounds, an all-out brawl. Manny was on the map. As strong as Morales’ heart was, he couldn’t withstand Pacquiao’s relentless attack in their third meeting. After the final knockdown in the third round, Morales sat on the ring, knowing he gave all he could, shook his head and gave the victory to Pacquiao.

Manny Pacquiao KO 2 Ricky Hatton
Critics said Pacquiao was too small for the 140-pound division. They said he couldn’t win in the undefeated Hatton’s homeland of England. Well, they were wrong. From the bell, Pacquiao proved to be too fast, too strong, too accurate for the British boxer. Two minutes into the fight, Pacquiao knocked Hatton down. A brutal knockout at the end of the second round.

Manny Pacquiao RTD 8 Oscar De La Hoya
Going against the bigger, stronger Oscar De La Hoya, Pacquiao was a big underdog entering the bout. A former world champion in six different weight classes, De La Hoya was two fights removed from a split-decision loss against Mayweather. Critics pegged him as being too much for the smaller Filipino fighter. They were wrong. Using superior quickness and surprising power, Pacquaio peppered De La Hoya throughout the match. At the end, even Oscar’s corner was telling him that there was no need to continue to fight.

A long ways from his start in pro boxing as a 16-year-old who put weights in his pockets to meet the 105-pound minimum, Pacquiao was now taking aim at becoming the first-ever world champion in eight different weight classes.

His opponent? A 5-foot-11 Margarito who towered five inches over Pacquiao and outweighed the smaller man by 17 pounds. Using his quickness and accuracy, Pacquiao launched an all-out assault, dominating Margarito 120-109, 118-110 and 119-109 on the judges’ cards. While Margarito said Pacquiao couldn’t hurt him, his battered face proved otherwise.

Honorable mentions:

Beats Miguel Cotto for WBO welterweight title on Nov. 14, 2009 TKO 12

Quadrilogy (Is that a word?) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez

KO 8 Chatchai Sasakul for WBC flyweight title on Dec. 4, 1998 for first world title

WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao pose during a news conference at the KA Theatre at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on April 29, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two will face each other in a unification bout on May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. (John Gurzinski, AFP via Getty Images)

Tickets for the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight on Saturday are rising as the match approaches.

Brian Shaw — not THAT Brian Shaw — is a three-time World’s Strongest Man winner who holds world records in deadlift and atlas stone loading.

He also tosses kegs, eats seven meals a day and lives in Denver.

VICE Sports caught up with Shaw to learn more about the life of the World’s Strongest Man. And from what we can tell, it includes a lot of car-lifting, fire truck-dragging and meat-eating (almost four pounds a day!)